1. Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Define the theoretical perspective concerning the relationship between school and society:
1.1.1. Functionalism
1.1.1.1. educational reform is supposed to create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity
1.1.2. school and society
1.1.2.1. schools, parents, churches, and other groups shape children's perceptions of the world by processes of socialization.
1.1.2.2. values, beliefs, and norms of society are internalized within children so that they think and act like other members of society
1.1.3. conflict theory
1.1.3.1. the glue of society is economic, political, and cultural, and military power
1.1.4. Interactionalism
1.1.4.1. relation of school and society are primary critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives
1.1.4.2. interactional theories attempt to make the common place strange by turning on their heads everyday taken for granted behaviors and interactions between students and students and between students and teachers
1.2. Identify and Describe 5 effects of schooling on individuals that you think have the greatest impact on students as explained in the text book.
1.2.1. employment
1.2.1.1. go to college to get an education and a good job
1.2.2. knowledge and attitudes
1.2.2.1. other research indicates that differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make differences in student learning
1.2.3. teacher behavior
1.2.3.1. teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior
1.2.4. inadequate schools
1.2.4.1. critics of contemporary schooling have pointed out that the way in which children are educated today will not prepare students for productive and fulfilling lives in the future
1.2.4.2. urban education in particular has failed to educate minority and poor children
1.2.4.3. students who attend suburban schools and private schools get a better educational experience than other children
1.2.5. student peer groups and alienation and student cultures play an important role in shaping students' educational experiences
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Describe the particular world view of one of student centered philosophy of education (pragmatism)
2.1.1. generic notions
2.1.1.1. educators start with needs and interests of the child in the classroom
2.1.1.2. allow the child to participate in planning his/her course of study
2.1.1.3. employ method or group learning
2.1.1.4. depend heavily on experiential learning
2.1.1.5. children are active, organic beings, growing & charging - required course of study that would reflect their particular stages of development
2.1.2. key researchers
2.1.2.1. George Sanders Pierce (1839-1914)
2.1.2.2. William James (1842-1910)
2.1.2.3. John Dewey (1859-1952)
2.1.2.4. European philosophers who might be classified as pragmatist Frances Bacon, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau
2.1.3. goal of education
2.1.3.1. growth
2.1.3.1.1. When asked growth toward what he replied growth leading to more growth
2.1.3.2. to make human beings who will live life to the fullest
2.1.4. role of the teacher
2.1.4.1. teacher assumes peripheral position of facilitator
2.1.4.2. encourages, offers suggestions, questions, & help plan & implement courses of study
2.1.4.3. writes curriculum
2.1.4.4. have command of several disciplines
2.1.5. Method of instruction
2.1.5.1. problem solving or inquiry method
2.1.6. curriculum
2.1.6.1. core curriculum
2.1.6.2. integrated curriculum
2.1.6.3. traditional discipline centered curriculum
2.1.6.4. in favor of child centered curriculum based on imagination and intuition
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Describe how class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
3.1.1. Race- An individual's race has a direct impact on how much education he or she is likely to achieve. Minorities do not receive the same educational opportunities as whites, and their rewards for educational attainment are significantly less.
3.1.1.1. Class- Students in different social classes have different kinds of educational experiences. For instance, education is extremely expensive. Families from the upper and the middle classes are also more likely to expect their children to finish school, whereas working class and underclass families often have lower levels of expectation for their children.
3.1.2. Gender- Historically, an individual's gender was directly related to his or her educational attainment. Today, females are less likely to drop out of school than males, and are more likely to have a higher level of reading proficiency than males.
3.2. What were the two responses to the Coleman Study from 1982?
3.2.1. Response- To put it simply, the differences that do exist between public and Catholic schools are statistically significant, but in terms of significant differences in learning, the results are negligible.
3.2.2. Response- Where an individual goes to school is often related to her race and socioeconomic background, but the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individual's race and class.
4. Educational Inequality
4.1. Explain the two types of cultural deprivation theory-
4.1.1. Working class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources, such as books and other educational stimuli, and thus arrive at school at a significant disadvantage.
4.1.2. Cultural deprivation theorists assert that the poor have a deprived culture- one that lacks the value system of middle class culture
4.2. Describe at least four school centered explanations for educational inequality-
4.2.1. School Financing- Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources. The majority of funds come from state and local taxes.
4.2.2. Between School Differences- Curriculum and Pedagogical Practices: the effective school research points to how differences in what is often termed school climates affect academic performance.
4.2.3. Curriculum and Ability Grouping- The fact that different groups of students in the same schools perform very differently suggests that there may be school characteristics affecting these outcomes.
4.2.4. Gender and Schooling- A fourth way that schooling often limits the educational opportunities and life chances of women is that the organization of schools reinforces gender roles and gender inequality.
5. History of U.S. Education
5.1. Reform Movement that had most influence of Education:
5.1.1. Post World War 2 Equity Era: 1945-1980 Cycles of Reform: Progressive & Traditional
5.1.1.1. focuses not only on the process of education but on its goals
5.1.1.2. debates regarding the type of education children should receive and should all children receive the same education
5.1.1.3. equity vs. excellence
5.1.1.4. traditionalists- knowledge centered education
5.1.1.4.1. subject centered curriculum
5.1.1.4.2. teacher centered education
5.1.1.4.3. discipline and authority
5.1.1.4.4. defense of academic standards in the name of excellence
5.1.1.5. Progressives
5.1.1.5.1. experimental education
5.1.1.5.2. curriculum that responds to the needs of students and the times
5.1.1.5.3. child centered education
5.1.1.5.4. freedom and individualism
5.1.1.5.5. relativism of academic standards in the name of equity
5.2. Democratic-Liberal School
5.2.1. history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution
5.2.2. school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all
5.2.3. believe that the U.S. educational system must continue to move closer to equity and excellence with out sacrificing one or the other too dramatically
6. Politics of Education Ch.2
6.1. Four Purposes of Education
6.1.1. Intellectual
6.1.1.1. basic cognitive skills (reading, writing, and math)
6.1.1.2. children should learn how to apply their knowledge
6.1.1.3. children should acquire higher order thinking skills
6.1.2. Political
6.1.2.1. one day become productive members of our society
6.1.2.2. learn basic laws of society
6.1.2.3. diverse cultural groups can be assimilated into one political order
6.1.3. Social
6.1.3.1. help solve social problems
6.1.3.2. learn how to act in social situations
6.1.3.3. learning how to behave in a way that is acceptable to our society
6.1.3.4. socialization is the key ingredient to stability in any society
6.1.4. Economic
6.1.4.1. prepare students for their role in workforce for future
6.1.4.2. schools prepare students differently among societies
6.2. Choose and describe a perspective for each:
6.2.1. Role of the School
6.2.1.1. liberal perspective
6.2.1.2. equality of opportunity
6.2.1.3. provide necessary education for all students to succeed
6.2.1.4. students can learn to become productive members of society
6.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Performance
6.2.2.1. liberal perspective
6.2.2.1.1. some students are more advantaged than other students because of reasons like poverty, and ethnic background, race
6.2.2.1.2. students begin school with different life chances
6.2.2.1.3. society must attempt through policies and programs to ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed
6.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems:
6.2.3.1. liberal perspective
6.2.3.2. schools have limited life chances of poor and minority children
6.2.3.3. problem of underachievement is a critical issue of these groups
6.2.3.4. not have enough funding of suburban schools
7. Schools as Organizations
7.1. Identify major stakeholders in your district by name:
7.1.1. State Senator: Richard Shelby
7.1.2. House of Representatives:
7.1.2.1. Speaker of the house: Mac McCutcheon
7.1.2.2. Majority Leader: Micky Hammon
7.1.2.3. Minority Leader: Craig Ford
7.1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
7.1.4. Local Superintendent: Marshall County Dr. Cindy Wigley
7.1.5. Local School Board: Marshall County Board of Education
7.2. Identify and describe the elements of change with in school processes and school cultures:
7.2.1. Conflict- efforts to democratize schools do not create conflicts, but they allow previously hidden problems, issues, and disagreements to surface
7.2.2. New Behaviors- change requires new relationships and behaviors, the change process must include building communication and trust
7.2.3. Team Building- shared decision making must consciously work out and give on going attention to relationships with in the rest of the schools staff
7.2.4. Process and content are interrelated - the process a team uses in going about its work is as important as the content of educational changes it attempts.
8. Curriculum and Pedagogy
8.1. Explain a curriculum theory which you advocate (humanist, social efficiency, developmentalists, or social meliorist)
8.1.1. The developmentalist curriculum is related to the needs and interests of the student rather than the needs of society.
8.2. Identify and describe the two dominant traditions of teaching-
8.2.1. Mimetic Tradition
8.2.1.1. Based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students.
8.2.2. Transformative Tradition-
8.2.2.1. Proponents of this tradition believe that the purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Describe two school based reforms-
9.1.1. Charter Schools: Charter schools are public schools that are free from many of the regulations applied to traditional public schools, and in return are held accountable for student performance.
9.1.2. Vouchers- Voucher advocates cite growing body of literature that shows how voucher programs increase student achievement, empower low income families, increase parental satisfaction rate, improve public education through competition, and offer a more cost effective method for financing schools.
9.2. Describe two societal, economic, community, or political reforms-
9.2.1. Full Service and Community Schools- Another way to attack education inequity is to examine and plan to educate not only the whole child, but also the whole community.
9.2.2. Harlem Children's Zone- Wanted to leave children where they are and change the students and their neighborhood instead of moving the students out of their neighborhood.